The Evil Dead (1981)

User Rating:

7.6/10   

Director:

Sam Raimi

Writer:

Sam Raimi (written by)

Release Date:

15 April 1983 (USA)

Genre:

Fantasy | Horror | Thriller

Tagline:

Can They Be Stopped?

Plot:

Five friends travel to a cabin in the woods, where they unknowingly release flesh-possessing demons.

Plot Keywords:

Evil | Woods | Cabin | Tape | Friend

Awards:

3 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Bruce Campbell	...	Ashley 'Ash' J. Williams
Ellen Sandweiss	...	Cheryl
Richard DeManincor	...	Scott (as Hal Delrich)
Betsy Baker	...	Linda
Theresa Tilly	...	Shelly (as Sarah York)
Philip A. Gillis	...	Fake Shemp (as Phil Gillis)
Dorothy Tapert	...	Fake Shemp
Cheryl Guttridge	...	Fake Shemp
Barbara Carey	...	Fake Shemp
David Horton	...	Fake Shemp
Wendall Thomas	...	Fake Shemp
Don Long	...	Fake Shemp
Stu Smith	...	Fake Shemp
Kurt Rauf	...	Fake Shemp
Ted Raimi	...	Fake Shemp
Ivan Raimi	...	Fake Shemp
Bill Vincent	...	Fake Shemp
Mary Beth Tapert	...	Fake Shemp
Scott Spiegel	...	Fake Shemp
John Cameron	...	Fake Shemp
Joanne Kruse	...	Fake Shemp
Gwen Cochanski	...	Fake Shemp
Debie Jarczewski	...	Fake Shemp
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Bob Dorian	...	Voice on Recorder (voice) (uncredited)
Sam Raimi	...	Hitchhiking Fisherman; Voice of Evil Force (uncredited)
Robert G. Tapert	...	Local Yokel (uncredited)

Directed by
Sam Raimi

Writing credits
Sam Raimi		(written by)

Produced by
Bruce Campbell	....	executive producer
Gary Holt	....	assistant producer
Sam Raimi	....	executive producer
Robert G. Tapert	....	executive producer (as Robert Tapert)
Robert G. Tapert	....	producer (as Robert Tapert)
Irvin Shapiro	....	producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
Joseph LoDuca		(as Joe LoDuca)

Cinematography by
Tim Philo		(photographed by)

Film Editing by
Edna Ruth Paul

Makeup Department
Tom Sullivan	....	special makeup effects

Art Department
Steve Frankel	....	construction supervisor

Sound Department
Josh Becker	....	sound: second unit
Dolores Elliott	....	assistant sound editor
Jerrell Frederick	....	dialogue re-recordist (as Jerry Frederick)
Lou Kleinman	....	dialogue editor
Joe Masefield	....	supervising sound editor
John Mason	....	location sound recordist
Mel Zelniker	....	sound mixer

Special Effects by
Bart Pierce	....	special photographic effects
Sam Raimi	....	special effects (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Josh Becker	....	lighting: second unit
Mike Ditz	....	still photographer
Tim Philo	....	lighting technician

Editorial Department
Joel Coen	....	assistant film editor

Music Department
Joseph LoDuca	....	conductor (as Joe LoDuca)
Ed Wolfrum	....	music engineer

Transportation Department
David Goodman	....	transportation captain

Other crew
Don Campbell	....	production assistant
Bridget Hoffman	....	photographic model (uncredited)

Thanks
John A. Gallagher	....	special thanks
Simon Nuchtern	....	special thanks
Sheila Roberts	....	special thanks
Carol Valenti	....	special thanks

Production Companies

• Renaissance Pictures

Distributors

• New Line Cinema (1983) (USA) (theatrical)
• Palace Pictures (1982) (UK) (theatrical)
• Citadel Films (1983) (Canada) (theatrical)
• Metropolitan Filmexport (1983) (France) (theatrical)
• A-Film Distribution (2003) (Netherlands) (theatrical) (re-release)
• A-Film Home Entertainment (2003) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• A-Film Home Entertainment (2009) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Anchor Bay Entertainment (1998) (USA) (VHS)
• Anchor Bay Entertainment (1999) (USA) (DVD)
• Astro Distribution (2001) (Germany) (DVD)
• Big Sky Video (2002) (Australia) (DVD)
• CMV Laservision (2001) (Germany) (DVD)
• Dutch FilmWorks (DFW) (2001) (Netherlands) (VHS)
• Elite Entertainment (????) (USA) (DVD)
• Filmways Home Video (????) (Australia) (VHS)
• Future Film (2003) (Finland) (theatrical)
• Future Film (2004) (Finland) (DVD)
• HBO/Cannon Video (198?) (USA) (VHS)
• Image Entertainment (????) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Japan Video Distribution (JVD) Co. Ltd. (????) (Japan) (VHS)
• LW Editora (????) (Brazil) (DVD)
• Look Filmes (????) (Brazil) (VHS)
• Look Vídeo (????) (Brazil) (VHS)
• Magnum Video (1984) (Finland) (VHS)
• Mainostelevisio (MTV3) (2006) (Finland) (TV)
• Manga Films (2003) (Spain) (all media) (re-release)
• SubTV (2005) (Finland) (TV)

Other Companies

• Audiographics  music engineered at
• August Films  title design
• Dynamic Effects  optical negative
• J.G. Films  negative matching
• Sound One Corporation  post-production sound

Also Known As:

Book of the Dead (USA) (première title)
Evil Dead (USA) (trailer title)
Into the Woods (USA) (working title)
Sam Raimi's The Evil Dead (USA) (complete title)
The Evil Dead, the Ultimate Experience in Grueling Horror (USA) (closing credits title)

MPAA:

Rated NC-17 for substantial graphic horror violence and gore.

Runtime:

85 min | Germany:70 min (FSK 16 version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Canada:R (Manitoba/Nova Scotia/Ontario) | Finland:K-16 (heavily cut) (1990) | Finland:K-18 (uncut) (2002) | USA:Not Rated (DVD rating) | Malaysia:(Banned) | Germany:16 (heavily cut) | Germany:18 (JK/SPIO) (uncut) (2001) | UK:18 (re-rating: 1990) (cut) (re-rating: 2001) (uncut) | UK:(Banned) (1984-1990) | UK:X (original rating: 1982) (cut) | USA:R (edited UMD version) | Netherlands:16 | Germany:18 (re-rating) (1995) (court decision) (cut) | Argentina:16 | Canada:14A (rated 2006) | USA:X (original rating) | Chile:14 (2006 DVD Rating) | South Korea:18 | West Germany:(Banned) (1984) (uncut) | Sweden:(Banned) | Italy:VM14 | Canada:18A (Ontario) (Re-rated 2008) | Italy:VM18 (original rating) | Australia:R | Canada:13+ (Québec) | France:-12 | Hong Kong:III | Iceland:(Banned) | Ireland:(Banned) (original rating) | Ireland:18 (re-rating) | Japan:R-15 | New Zealand:R16 | Norway:15 (DVD rating) (2004) | Portugal:M/16 (DVD rating) | Portugal:M/18 (original rating) | Singapore:(Banned) | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 (re-rating) (1997) | USA:NC-17 (rated 1994) | Germany:BPjM Restricted

Filming Locations:

Detroit, Michigan, USA

Company:

Renaissance Pictures

Trivia:

Ash's last name is never mentioned throughout the entire Evil Dead trilogy, though Sam Raimi and Bruce Campbell did toy around with calling him "Ashley J Williams" and "Ash Holt," the latter revealing how Sam viewed the character...

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When the car is approaching the cabin and the camera truck is filming from the rear angle following the car, you can see a branch get moved out of the way by the camera.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Scotty: Hey, Ash, where are we?
Ash: Well we just crossed the Tennessee border...

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Wild Arms (1996) (VG)

The ultimate in terror

It's the early 80's, what do you expect? This is a scary scary film. And I think I know why films now a days can't hold a candle to films like Halloween and Evil Dead. And that is because a photo copy is never as good as the original. That is the bottom line. Directors don't care about a lot of the material that they are filming today, especially when it comes to horror films and that is because they don't write their own stories. They do someone elses work. But not Evil Dead. This was Raimi's baby from the outset. When films like the two mentioned were filmed they were filmed by two directors that were complete unknowns. They had no pressure to make a great film and they did it on an incredibly low budget. Halloween was made for $150,000 and Evil Dead for $50 000. So what that meant is that the directors could stick to their visions but they had to find innovative ways to do so. Their budgets didn't allow a heap of special effects so they had to rely on what they knew. And that was, how to create atmosphere using the camera. And Evil Dead is one of the best at doing that. There is one scene in this film that I will never forget and that is one of the early scenes where the cast arrives at the cabin. Here we see a long shot of the cabin and it has very eerie music playing. This shows the cabin as being menacing. It lets you know that there is evil in that cabin. And that we are in for a hell of a ride.

Sam Raimi made a masterpiece here that I believe stands the test of time. You can put this film up against any of today's so called horror films and I guarantee you this scares you more. Raimi cares about his movie and he does everything to make you feel the terror that the cabin people feel. We are scared and disgusted at what happens when one of the women goes outside alone at night and meets a tree that does unspeakable things. And when the book is first introduced.... that is horror movie history there. What a brilliant concept. A book that is evil. I have often wondered about such books. We hear about them all the time in movies about ancient Egypt and ancient times. But here we have a book that has weird incantations from another world and another language, and you just know that as soon as some idiot utters the words that they are not supposed to say, well they won't be around much longer.

The Evil Dead is a miracle. It was made on a rock bottom budget yet it is scarier than any Hollywood movie that is made for 20 million could ever hope to be. If you want to truly experience a frightening experience, rent this film, it knows what it wants to say. And it knows how to make you afraid. So be afraid. Be very afraid. You may never look at the forest the same again.